CARTERSVILLE, Ga. — More than 200 men gathered Saturday, March 21, at Cartersville First Baptist for an Iron Sharpens Iron men’s conference, where speakers emphasized Spirit-led discipleship, courageous fatherhood, and intentional leadership.
Cartersville First Baptist partnered with Real Momentum Ministries and the Georgia Baptist Mission Board to host the event. Real Momentum Ministries is a men’s ministry organization built around equipping men for Kingdom impact in the home, the church, and the world. The day’s main sessions featured Stephen Kendrick of Kendrick Brothers Productions, Keith Boggs, executive director of Real Momentum, and Scott Sullivan, discipleship catalyst of the GBMB. A slate of breakouts addressed topics ranging from sexual purity and family worship to mentoring, leadership development, and men’s ministry strategy.
Iron Sharpens Iron began as an equipping conference launched by Brian Doyle 25 years ago and has grown into a national network of regional events hosted by ministries such as Real Momentum. Since 2001, organizers say more than 640,000 men have attended Iron Sharpens Iron conferences across the country. On March 21 alone, similar events were held in cities including Buffalo, New York; Springfield, Illinois; and Hartford, Connecticut.
Kyle Walker, senior pastor of Cartersville First Baptist, said Boggs and Real Momentum have played a catalytic role in strengthening the church’s men’s ministry. “When Keith offered the opportunity for us to host an Iron Sharpens Iron conference in partnership with the Georgia Baptist Mission Board,” Walker said, “I knew it was a regional opportunity to minister to men I didn’t want to miss.”
Kendrick, who with his brothers has produced films that have challenged men toward biblical leadership and family faithfulness, made clear the need for men to follow Christ personally rather than merely inherit Christian language.
He recounted the impact of seeing a father learn to walk with God despite not having a strong model in his own childhood. “If you didn’t have a godly father in your home, you have a heavenly Father who’s perfect,” Kendrick said, urging men not to settle into passivity or resignation. He challenged them to surrender leadership of their lives to Christ.
Kendrick also pressed into the theme of Spirit-led discipleship, telling men that God never intended for them to obey Scripture or lead their families by sheer willpower. He described the Holy Spirit as God’s enabling presence within believers, and called men to daily submission. “It’s amazing when you discover that God never intended for you to obey his word on your own, which you can’t,” he said.
Kendrick led the men through Scripture, highlighting the Spirit’s role in guiding believers, calling them to cultivate sensitivity to God’s prompting in ways that align with the Word of God. “You need to learn to walk by the Spirit,” he said, “and be led by the Holy Spirit.”
He urged men to pursue spiritual habits that keep them attentive and responsive to the Spirit. Sin, distraction, and complacency hinder the relationship with the Spirit, he explained.
“The Holy Spirit is the hand in the glove of your life,” Kendrick said, emphasizing that the commands and promises of the New Testament are given to believers who are empowered by God’s Spirit.
Using examples from ministry and filmmaking, Kendrick shared that the most significant work he has witnessed has come not from human capacity but from prayerful dependence. He recounted moments when direction came through prayer and how the Lord provided what was needed when resources and clarity were lacking.
“If you come hang out with the Kendrick brothers, you will be less impressed with us, and you’ll be more impressed with the God we serve,” Kendrick said.
Boggs’ message centered on the life-changing power of the gospel and the urgency of discipling men to live as fully devoted followers of Jesus.
“If you don’t own your manhood, Satan is sure to see that someone or something else will," Boggs said, warning that passivity never remains neutral. He spoke candidly about seasons when he avoided the very spiritual anchors he needed, and how the Lord used faithful people to call him toward repentance and obedience.
Boggs said Real Momentum exists to help churches build discipleship pathways for men that last beyond a single event.
He also spoke about common struggles reported by men at conferences and the urgent need for discipleship that moves beyond surface-level encouragement. A recurring pattern in churches, he explained, is men carrying heavy burdens while trying to face them alone. Boggs urged men to receive help, build accountability, and pursue the spiritual health required to lead their families with integrity.
Sullivan, who expanded on 1 Corinthians 16:13, emphasized that spiritual maturity does not grow in a vacuum. He told men that the call to “act like men” is not a summons to bravado but to biblical courage. “Be alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong,” Sullivan said, quoting the passage. “Your every action must be done with love.”
Sullivan urged men to recognize the spiritual warfare that quietly erodes homes, discipleship, and church health when men drift into disengagement. He warned that many failures in public begin with neglect in private, pointing to Peter’s collapse in the courtyard after sleeping in the garden when Jesus called him to watch and pray. “A man who stops paying attention spiritually will fall asleep at the wheel morally,” Sullivan said.
He called comfort “the greatest addiction in America,” and challenged men to reject it as the dominant pursuit of their lives. “When we become comfortable, we get lazy,” he said, calling men to reject comfort and seek to make a gospel impact.
Sullivan closed his message with a direct gospel invitation, telling the men that the most important decision a person ever makes is whether Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. Two men professed faith in Christ following the invitation, drawing applause from the gathered crowd. Sullivan urged them to speak with him and event leaders after the session. “We are not going to leave you to your own devices,” Sullivan said, urging follow-up through the local church and ongoing discipleship.
Alongside the main sessions, men could choose from a slate of breakout tracks that addressed personal discipleship and church ministry strategy. Session topics included family worship and Bible habits, building a year-round plan for men’s ministry, and helping boys become men in a culture that often resists biblical masculinity.
Walker said the fruit he witnessed Saturday reinforced why the church was eager to open its doors and invest in a day of encouragement and equipping. “My goal was to see men encouraged, challenged, and inspired to further embrace the call to biblical manhood. God did that and so much more!” he declared. “I saw men give their lives to Christ!”
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